"it's scandalous" (lance rants)

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Anonymous's picture
Anonymous

"http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/more/specials/tour_de_france/2004/07/15/stage11.tour2.ap/index.html


Armstrong, bidding for a record sixth straight Tour de France title, said a French television crew attempted to get access to his room after he left to race in the 102-mile stage from Saint-Flour to Figeac in central France.

""Just this morning, after we left, a TV crew from France 3 was going to the hotel, the reception, to the owner, asking for our room, trying to get in our room,"" Armstrong said.

He called such behavior ""scandalous"" and said he was scared that products could be planted to make him look guilty.

""They show up and they ask sporting questions to our face, but as soon as they leave they're digging in the rooms and looking for dirt,"" he said. ""If you left a B vitamin sitting there, that would get on TV and that would be a scandal. That's what we have to live with every day.""

""This particular guy from France 3 has been following us for months and it's scandalous,"" he said. ""The scary thing is, if they don't find anything and get frustrated after a couple of months ... well, who's to say they won't put something there and say 'look what we've found.""'
"

Anonymous's picture
Isaac Brumer (not verified)

Someone once said
If the law's not on your side, argue the facts.
If the facts are not on your side, argue the law.
If neither the law nor the facts are on your side, get emotional.

I think Lance is getting emotional.

Anonymous's picture
jeff (not verified)

If we surrounded Lance and poked him with a stick until he screamed would that prove anything? Of course, we'd all handle Lance's life better than does he, especially after all we've done for him.
Your post is mere insinuation.

Anonymous's picture
don montalvo (not verified)
there's an old saying in pro pool...

"...whining and complaining during competition is what a person does when they know they're going to lose (it's a ""move"" designed to distract your opponent).

;)
don"

Anonymous's picture
<a href="http://www.OhReallyOreilly.com">Peter O'Reilly</a> (not verified)
Well then..

"Lance must be doing quite well for himself with all that ""whining"" or did you mean to write ""winning""? He has said such for quite a while now. In fact, he wrote about it in his first book. If someone was rummaging through my trash, I'd be quite miffed, too. It was reason enough for him to sell his residence in France a few/couple years back.

It is very much a concern and real risk for pro cyclists, and track n field athletes among others. I vaguely recall the details of pro-rider, from Cofidis (?) claiming that his team sabotaged his test results as a way to drop him from the team. I think this news occurred within the past week.

If you want whining, ask Sammy Sosa. Whoops, Rick Reilly already did...."

Anonymous's picture
don montalvo (not verified)

see? ya shudda taken me up on my powerbar bet. i gave two to one odds tht lance wouldn't crack the top three...i'm glad only one person took me up on the bet (and double glad the person turned down my offer of throwing in 20 pushups).

:p
don

Anonymous's picture
<a href="http://www.OhReallyOreilly.com">Peter O'Reilly</a> (not verified)
Powerbar v. Pushups

Perhaps things have changed, but I gave up on Powerbars along time ago. At the time I did, I found even with my skinny body, doing 20 pushups was much easier and faster to do than trying to pry open a Powerbar from its wrapper.

Axel Merckx's comments after stage 10 is a good cycling example of whining. That said, I wouldn't put any weight on a single sound bite, extracted quote as that's what sells papers as they say (or at least gets us to read cyclingnews.com). I think Axel is a classy, respectable rider regardless.

Anonymous's picture
don montalvo (not verified)

damn...my sides are splitting! i hope the cramps go away before morning!!!

:D
don



peter wrote:

> Perhaps things have changed, but I gave up on Powerbars
> along time ago. At the time I did, I found even with my
> skinng body, doing 20 pushups was much easier and faster
> to do than trying to pry open a Powerbar from its wrapper.

Anonymous's picture
jeff (not verified)

Having now seen this on television, I would like to point out that Lance's delivery was perfectly calm.
It was neither a rant, nor was it 'emotional.'
May the best man win.

Anonymous's picture
Tom Laskey (not verified)
Lance Responds to LeMond

"Here's Lance responding to statements by Greg LeMond:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2004/jul04/jul16news3

Not only does Lance not sound emotional he sounds pretty classy. Of course even if he did sound emotional who could blame him. After years and years of accusations, allegations and non-stop testing, none of which has led to even a fraction of proof that he's doping, I wouldn't blame him for losing it now and then.

For the press to go after Lance is one thing, for LeMond to do it is something else. Unless he has first-hand knowledge that Lance is doping he really ought to sit back, enjoy the tour and keep his mouth shut. I think he makes himself look like a pathetically petty fool everytime he talks about Lance.

""O, beware, my lord of jealousy; It is the green-ey'd monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.""

--Othello (III, iii, 165-167)
"

Anonymous's picture
JP (not verified)
Dark side

This all could be part of a dark side for cycling in general and USA cycling. I personally hope it's all nonsense and that LA is clean. Let's all hope!

But the mix is thicker than that. The book LA Confidential (I have not read) mentions Lemond's wife as a witness of sorts to LA's alleged doping. For Greg to respond to questions and defend his wife sort of dilutes whatever bitterness/jealously people say Greg may have. Also, Lemond is responding not only to/for his wife, but also to the press. He did not call a press conference, etc. And I think Lemond has more insight into pro racing than most/all of us. Again though, there is no proof of LA doping. And in all fairness to LA, how do you defend yourself against something that you say does not exist. I hope it all works out for LA, GL, his wife, and cycling.

Bottom line - I think there's alot we don't know. At the elite level, drugs probabaly are present - not necessarily used by everyone, but available. And the temptation to go for a boost if you don't have your legs one week must be enormous.

Anonymous's picture
Tom Laskey (not verified)
Not quite

"The comments of Lemond that Lance was responding to included nothing about GL's wife. To me it sounds like GL was saying, ""I was never as good after my injury as I was before therefore Lance can't be as good or better after cancer than he was before unless he is doping."" As I said above, petty and foolish.

Since no one has read L.A. Confidential nor does anyone privy to this message board have any way to verify that anything in it is actually true, why don't we just leave it at, ""...there's a lot we don't know."" Anything else is groundless speculation which only fuels the already ridiculous and destructive feeding frenzy that is going on. I for one find the events of the actual Tour itself far more intersting."

Anonymous's picture
JP (not verified)
Yup!

We know so little - but as fans, we specualte. I hope it all works out.

Anonymous's picture
B. Dale (not verified)
Lemond on ESPN

From ESPN.com

...Now, as Armstrong is threatening to claim his record sixth straight Tour de France title, Lemond speaks with ESPN's Outside the Lines (segments airing Friday on SportsCenter at 6 p.m. ET and in its entirety Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET) in his first public interview since his 2001 statements questioning Armstrong's relationship with a controversial Italian doctor now on trial for doping.

Anonymous's picture
Heidi (not verified)
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